'We Don't Want To Be Americans' – Greenlanders Speak Out On Trump's Plan

Inside a Nuuk hotel meeting room, Donald Trump Jr.’s attempt to gauge local support for his father’s Greenland takeover plan fell flat. 

According to a report by The Economist, his team gathered what locals describe as a handful of homeless residents, lured by promises of campaign merchandise and free meals at an upscale restaurant.

The staged event creates friction with genuine local sentiment across Greenland’s capital. “He’s scary,” Ruth, a cultural center worker, told The Economist. “We don’t want him here.” She cited America’s treatment of Alaska’s indigenous populations as a key concern for Greenland’s majority Inuit population.

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Trump Jr.’s visit comes as tensions rise over the island’s future. While some residents see potential economic benefits in American partnership, most reject outright U.S. control. “I fear that our language would disappear very quickly,” Jens Danielsen told Greenland’s public broadcaster KNR, expressing preference for continued Danish ties.

The debate touches raw nerves about colonialism and independence. 

According to recent polling cited by The Economist, nearly two-thirds of Greenlanders support eventual independence from Denmark, though they remain divided over the timing and economic implications. Danish subsidies currently fund over half of Greenland’s government budget.

Some residents view Trump’s interest as leverage for greater autonomy. “Everything is just getting more and more expensive here. Goods from Denmark are extremely expensive, so of course the USA seems more attractive,” Karen Kielsen, a cleaning assistant, told KNR.

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Greenland’s pro-independence Prime Minister Múte Egede took a firm stance at a Copenhagen press conference. “We don’t want to be Danes. We don’t want to be Americans. We want to be Greenlanders,” he said.

Student Imaakka Boassen offered a different perspective to KNR. “There are so many Danes in leading positions in Greenland, but when we live in Greenland, it should be Greenlanders who lead,” he said, reflecting the growing frustration with Danish influence.

With parliamentary elections approaching in April, independence dominates political discussion. Some lawmakers, like Kuno Fencker, envision potential security partnerships with Denmark and America, similar to arrangements in Pacific island nations.

The debate continues as Trump refuses to rule out using military or economic pressure to gain control of the strategic Arctic territory and its valuable mineral deposits.

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